Maze leads giant slalom; Mancuso DNF

Krasnaya Polyana, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Sochi downhill co-champion Tina Maze of Slovenia took a big lead in the women's giant slalom on Tuesday after the first run.

Mikaela Shiffrin, the 18-year-old American slalom specialist, was fifth going into the final run and was .26 seconds out of medal contention.

But former Olympic champion Julia Mancuso missed a gate and was eliminated in her last race of the Sochi Games.

Mancuso, 29, got bounced off track late in the run. She competed in five events at these Olympics and won her only medal in the super combined last week, a bronze.

The four-time Olympic medalist won gold in the giant slalom in 2006 but finished eighth in the event four years ago. She was one of 15 skiers who didn't finish their first run.

Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch pulled out of the race before it started. She had already won her second straight gold in the super combined and took silver in the super-G.

Shiffrin has three World Cup titles this season in slalom and is the reigning world champion. That event is scheduled for Friday. She has finished on the World Cup podium twice this season in giant slalom.

Maze, who earned the silver in the giant slalom at the 2010 Olympics, posted a time of 1 minute, 17.88 seconds -- .52 seconds ahead of Sweden's Jessica Lindell-Vikarby. Italy's Nadia Fanchini was third, .65 seconds back of Maze.

Austria's Anna Fenninger, looking to build on the gold she won in the super-G at these Olympics, was fourth ahead of Shiffrin.

Reigning Olympic giant slalom champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany stood sixth going into the second run, which was coming up Tuesday.